Stanford football coach David Shaw did everything but name redshirt freshman Jordan Williamson as his starting kicker Monday. Williamson and redshirt sophomore Eric Whitaker have been battling toe-to-toe the first several days of camp.

“Jordan Williamson has been very, very good,” Shaw said. “We haven’t named the official starter, but it’s getting to where it’s almost a moot point.”

Williamson holds the most career field goals — 32 — for Westwood in Austin, Texas. That is fifth-best in state history. Williamson, who booted 52- and 50-yard field goals while at Westwood, set a state record with 93 consecutive PAT tries.

“Football is huge in Texas,” Williamson said. “Westwood is more of an academic school than it is athletic. The turnout for the football games was always great. In the small towns, the whole town shuts down and everyone comes out for the game.”

Texas wasn’t interested in Williamson, but Vanderbilt and a few other colleges were.

“Stanford is where I love to be, so I’m happy where I’m at,” Williamson said.

Williamson has kicked a 65-yarder in practice, but kicking in his first collegiate game will add a lot more pressure. Meanwhile, Whitaker, who has booted a 60-yard field goal in practice, saw action in the Sac State and Oregon games last season. Whitaker isn’t conceding anything to Williamson.

“We’re both competing for the job,” said Whitaker, out of St. Augustine-San Diego. “We’re both solid kickers. That’s what is making us better. We’re both doing a good job. Whomever has more passion for it is going to win the job.”

“We’re friends,” Williamson said of Whitaker. “Obviously, we’re competing. Competition is making us both better. I’ve been working on my kickoffs and they’ve gotten a lot better. On a good day, I’m equally good on kickoffs and field goals.”

Whitaker’s older brother, Nate, is in the Cleveland Browns’ camp fighting for a job. Nate Whitaker hit 17 of 19 field goals last season for the Cardinal.

“My brother is having a good time,” Eric said. “He’s going to make it. He’s kicking butt up there. He’s a great kicker. He’ll succeed wherever he is because he has the drive.”

Two years ago, Nate Whitaker kicked a field goal that sealed a riveting 51-42 victory over Oregon at Stanford Stadium. Williamson was in the stands watching.

“It was cool,” Williamson said. “That was the one game I came to on my recruiting trip.”

For punters David Green and Daniel Zychlinski, competing with each other is old hat. Zychlinski was the punter for the first 10 games last season before relinquishing his duties to Green the final three games. Zychlinski, a redshirt junior, had 24 punts to Green’s eight. Green, in his fifth year, punted a combined 88 times in 2008-09. The pair appear to be in a dead heat at this juncture.

“It’s a good battle,” said Green, a Mission Viejo High alum. “We’re going strong. I’m getting more kicks and more practices in. I grinded it during the offseason to get a solid foundation going in camp.”

“We’ve been battling ever since I’ve been here,” said Zychlinski, who prepped at King in Tampa, Fla. “I couldn’t ask for better competition than David. It keeps me sharp. It’s like iron sharpens iron. The better guy will get on the field. It’s as simple as that.”

Shaw could only add, “It’s still a tight race.”

Zychlinski was part of the 2012 recruiting class, which had the likes of quarterback Andrew Luck, cornerback Michael Thomas, outside linebacker Chase Thomas and wideout Griff Whalen.

“The chemistry in my recruiting class is phenomenal,” Zychlinski said. “We’re all very close. They’re a great bunch of guys. We’re like a brotherhood.”

The transition from Jim Harbaugh to Shaw as head coach has gone smoothly, though the pair are different in style.

“The schedules are different with Harbaugh and Shaw,” Green said. “Harbaugh was one day this, one day that, something completely different. Shaw is pretty homogenous.”

“Shaw is amazing,” Zychlinski said. “He’s a great coach, a smart coach. He knows what he’s doing. A mastermind.”

It wasn’t long ago that Stanford’s punters were its most valuable players, the offense was so feeble. The offense has been the best in school history the past two seasons, setting a record for points last year. Punters are seldom used when the offense regularly crosses the goal line for six points. Last season’s 32 combined punts were the fewest in a season for Stanford since Brad Fox had 29 punts in 1978, though Fox may not have been the only punter that season.

“They kept me off the field last year, but I wasn’t complaining about that,” Zychlinski said. “Every time I don’t have to go in on fourth down it’s good for the team.”

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